Elephants are one of my absolute favorite animals. They are such beautiful, intelligent-seeming creatures. They are so gentle. And they move so gracefully forward, IMHO.
Now, the results of a 40-year social behavioral study of elephants show that humans and elephants actually have a ton in common.
“The results of the longest continual study of elephants found that some behaviors many people believe to be unique to humans, like casting flirtatious glances or arguing about directions, are in reality quite common among these species as well,” Stephen Messenger of TreeHugger writes.
While a normal person like you and me may watch a group of elephants and not notice much communication going on, the biologists of this study have identified quite an intricate system of communication amongst these large mammals.
Additionally, empathy, considered one of the highest of human traits, has now been identified in elephants.
“They have long been known to display human traits such as grief, but the research shows they may also wince at each other’s pain,” co-editor Phyllis Lee told the Daily Mail.
“Not unlike two people greeting with a handshake, elephants will intertwine their trunks as a polite ‘hello’; flirtatious individuals were observed casting apparently alluring side-glances to a prospective,” Messenger writes.
The new book out on this all is called The Amboseli Elephants. I think I may need to take a look.
Related Stories on Planetsave:
- Baby Elephant Sneezes, Scares Himself, Hides Behind Mom {VIDEO}
- Baby Elephant Charging {VIDEO}
- African Elephant Two Separate Species
- Fearful Elephants Would Sooner Starve Than Cross Roads
Photos via Today is a good day; Stuck in Customs; Adam Foster | Codefor
